The Blues and Conte lost their opening pre-season friendly 2-0 against Rapid Vienna on Saturday but Conte believes the addition of Kante will help push the Blues in the right direction – and says he was a player he identified very early on once he took charge at Stamford Bridge.

Conte has backed Kante to become a key part of Chelsea’s midfield this season and said teams need hard-working players if they are to succeed.

“I want to say Kante was a target and for this reason I’m very happy the club bought the player,” he said. “He’s a good player. He has good technique, fantastic stamina and I like this type of player.

“If you want to win a team needs this type of player – Kante, [Nemanja] Matic and [John Obi] Mikel – that work hard for the team.

“We identified him, me and the club together, and I think Kante can give a lot to Chelsea, to enforce a zone which is very important if we want to play with two central midfielders. He showed last season he’s able to play with another midfielder. I think with this player we’ve reinforced the squad.”